Information processing device, communication system, information processing method and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of facilitating an interaction by setting a place for communication, a communication system, an information processing method and a program.SOLUTION: An information processing device for communicating with a first terminal utilized by a first user and a plurality of second terminals utilized by a plurality of second users comprises: a setting section for setting a combination of second users subjected to an interaction in response to an operation of the first user to the first terminal; a generation section which generates a virtual region where the second users relating to the combination set by the setting section perform a conversation with each other; and a notification section by which the second terminals of the second users relating to the combination set by the setting section are notified of a promotion of an interaction in the virtual region that is generated by the generation section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a communication system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] With the recent development of the IT environment, remote work, which allows people to work from anywhere, has become widespread, and remote communication is also becoming the norm. The shift to remote communication that comes with the spread of remote work has little impact on existing members, as there are few changes other than the change in physical distance. On the other hand, the shift to remote communication has caused changes in the tools used by new members who have just joined an organization and do not yet have a full understanding of the other members to communicate with existing members.

[0003] For example, in the past, relationships between new and existing members were often based on the atmosphere of each member's facial expression, tone of speech, behavior, etc. in a shared space such as an actual room, and by grasping the characteristics of each member, contact was often started with the member who seemed easy to contact. Then, through repeated trial and error, a sense of connection and recognition as a member of the organization were often built. However, as remote communication has taken root, the traditional method of building relationships, "understanding members based on the atmosphere in an actual shared space," is changing to "understanding through audiovisual means using communication tools." In an environment where the information on who to contact has changed or become scarce, new members have to set up separate communication opportunities.

[0004] As a support technology for communication associated with remote communication as described above, a technology has been disclosed that appropriately supports interaction between users by presenting support information regarding interaction with a second user to a first user based on user information of the first user (for example, Patent Document 1). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that it simply presents support information regarding interactions, and does not actually set up a communication space for each member, so it does not provide a sufficient incentive for communication.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an information processing device, a communication system, an information processing method, and a program that can set up a communication space and facilitate interaction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an information processing device that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and multiple second terminals used by multiple second users, and is characterized in that it comprises a setting unit that sets a combination of second users to be the subject of interaction in accordance with an operation of the first user on the first terminal, a generation unit that generates a virtual area in which the second users related to the combination set by the setting unit can converse with each other, and a notification unit that notifies the second terminals of each of the second users related to the combination set by the setting unit to encourage interaction in the virtual area generated by the generation unit. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a place of communication can be set up to facilitate interaction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server or the like according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of the server according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the matching list screen. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the self-introduction card creation screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the communication screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the self-introduction card list screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the communication result screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the recommendation screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the manager communication result screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the entire operation of the communication system according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of an operation for creating a self-introduction card in the communication system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an information processing device, a communication system, an information processing method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and the components in the following embodiments include those that a person skilled in the art can easily conceive, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalent. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the following embodiments.

[0011] (Overall configuration of the communication system) 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the overall configuration of a communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0012] The communication system 1 shown in Fig. 1 is an information and communication system that supports facilitating communication between members of an organization located in a remote environment. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 1 includes a server 10, an administrator terminal 20, user terminals 30a and 30b, and a personnel system 40.

[0013] In addition, when referring to any user terminal or collectively referring to the user terminals 30a and 30b, the user terminals 30a and 30b are simply referred to as "user terminal 30." In addition, although two user terminals 30a and 30b are shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication system 1 may include three or more user terminals 30.

[0014] The server 10 is an information processing device that executes a process to support facilitating communication between members of an organization located in a remote environment. Note that the server 10 is not limited to being configured as a single information processing device, and may be an information processing system configured of multiple information processing devices.

[0015] The administrator terminal 20 is an information terminal used by an administrator such as a manager who manages members of an organization. The administrator terminal 20 is an information terminal such as a desktop PC (Personal Computer) or a notebook PC.

[0016] The user terminal 30 is an information terminal used by each member of an organization. The user terminal 30 is, for example, an information terminal such as a desktop PC or a notebook PC.

[0017] The personnel system 40 is an information processing system that manages user information such as the names of members of an organization who log in to the communication system 1 and the names of the organizations to which they belong.

[0018] The server 10, the administrator terminal 20, the user terminal 30, and the personnel system 40 are capable of data communication with each other via a network N. The network N is configured by the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or a combination of these, and may include either a wired network or a wireless network.

[0019] (Hardware configuration of server, administrator terminal and user terminal) Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server etc. according to the embodiment. The hardware configurations of the server 10, the administrator terminal 20 and the user terminal 30 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Here, the server 10 will be described as an example.

[0020] 2, the server 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 801, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 802, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 803, a HD (Hard Disk) 804, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 805, a display 806, an external device connection I / F 808, a network I / F 809, a keyboard 811, a pointing device 812, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 814, and a media I / F 816. Each of these devices is connected by a bus line 810 such as an address bus and a data bus so as to enable data communication.

[0021] The CPU 801 is a computing device that controls the overall operation of the server 10. The ROM 802 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs used to drive the CPU 801, such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader). The RAM 803 is a volatile storage device used as a work area for the CPU 801.

[0022] The HD 804 is a non-volatile auxiliary storage device that stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 805 is a controller that controls reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 804 under the control of the CPU 801. The HD 804 and the HDD controller 805 may be SSDs (Solid State Drives).

[0023] The display 806 is a display device that displays various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, or an image. The external device connection I / F 808 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, examples of the external devices include a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a printer. The network I / F 809 is an interface for data communication via a network N, and is an interface capable of communication in accordance with, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark) and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / IP (Internet Protocol).

[0024] The keyboard 811 is an input device equipped with a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 812 is an input device such as a mouse for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc.

[0025] The DVD-RW drive 814 is a device that controls reading and writing of various data from and to a DVD 813, such as a DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disk Recordable) or DVD-RW, which is an example of a removable recording medium. The media I / F 816 is an interface that controls reading and writing (storing) of data from and to a medium 815, such as a flash memory.

[0026] Note that the hardware configuration of the server 10 shown in Fig. 2 is an example, and does not need to include all of the components shown in Fig. 2, or may include other components. The hardware configurations of the administrator terminal 20 and the user terminal 30 are also similar to the configuration shown in Fig. 2. It goes without saying that the server 10, the administrator terminal 20, and the user terminal 30 do not need to have the same hardware configuration.

[0027] (Server function block configuration and operation) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of functional blocks of a server according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a matching list screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a self-introduction card creation screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a communication screen. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a self-introduction card list screen. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a communication result screen. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a recommendation screen. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a communication result screen for an administrator. The configuration and operation of functional blocks of the server 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 10.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, the server 10 includes a communication unit 101, a setting unit 102, a generation unit 103, a notification unit 104, a registration unit 105, a counting unit 106, a display control unit 107, and a storage unit .

[0029] The communication unit 101 is a functional unit that transmits and receives data to and from the manager terminal 20, the user terminal 30, and the personnel system 40 via the network N. The communication unit 101 is realized, for example, by the network I / F 809 and the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0030] The setting unit 102 is a functional unit that sets a matching list on a matching list screen 1000 shown in Figure 4, which is displayed on the administrator terminal 20 (first terminal) by the display control unit 107 described later, in response to operations by the administrator (an example of a first user) on the administrator terminal 20 (first terminal).

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the matching list screen 1000 includes a matching list display area 1001, an add button 1002, and a delete button 1003.

[0032] The matching list display area 1001 is an area for displaying a matching list already set by the setting unit 102. Here, the matching list is a list showing a combination of two people who are targets for which communication is encouraged. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, a member represented by "taro.tanaka@ABC.com" and a member represented by "hanako.yamada@ABC.com" are registered in the matching list as targets for which communication is encouraged. In addition, for example, when a combination of new member A and existing member B is set in the first line of the matching list, and a combination of new member A and existing member C is set in the second line, the notification unit 104 described later first notifies new member A and existing member B to encourage communication, and then notifies new member A and existing member C to encourage communication. In addition, the schedule of the notification to encourage communication (for example, the date and time of the first notification to encourage communication, the period until the next notification, etc.) may be determined as a fixed schedule, or may be set by the setting unit 102 based on an operation by the administrator via the administrator terminal 20 on the matching list screen 1000. This allows administrators to set up a method of communication equivalent to the traditional one, where new members start by contacting people who seem easiest to reach out to, and the new members can then follow that method of contact and build connections with other members of the organization.

[0033] In addition, the targets for which interaction is encouraged in the matching list are not limited to combinations of two people, but combinations of three or more people may be set. For example, a third existing member D may be set as a member who mediates interaction between new member A and existing member B. In this case, a member who has interactions with both new member A and existing member B may be selected as the third existing member D. In the following explanation, it is assumed that the combination involves two members.

[0034] The add button 1002 is a button for adding a new combination of members for which interaction is to be encouraged. When the add button 1002 is pressed, the setting unit 102 requests user information of members, etc., who are subordinates of the manager, from the personnel system 40, for example, via the communication unit 101. Then, the display control unit 107 displays the user information acquired by the setting unit 102 on the matching list screen 1000, and the manager may be able to select members for which interaction is to be encouraged from the displayed user information.

[0035] The delete button 1003 is a button for deleting a combination for which interaction is encouraged, which has already been set by the setting unit 102. For example, the administrator, via the administrator terminal 20, presses the delete button 1003 with the combination to be deleted selected from the list of member combinations displayed in the matching list display area 1001, thereby deleting the selected combination.

[0036] The setting unit 102 stores (registers) the set matching list in the storage unit 108. The setting unit 102 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0037] Note that the subject who scans the matching list screen 1000 to set the matching list is not limited to the administrator, and may be, for example, an existing member of the organization who has been granted authority by the administrator.

[0038] The generating unit 103 is a functional unit that generates a place where each member corresponding to the combination of the matching list set by the setting unit 102 can have a conversation when the date and time of the schedule corresponding to the combination of the matching list is reached. Here, the conversation place is a virtual area for members to interact with each other, such as a chat room in a communication tool or a thread for posting, but may be other than these. In addition, only two people related to the combination set in the matching list are given the authority to participate, post, and view in the conversation place, and other members are restricted in any or all of the authority to participate, post, and view. However, the administrator may give the authority to participate, post, and view to members other than the two people related to the combination. Note that a conversation is an example of an interaction, and includes the transmission and reception of characters by chat, etc. and the transmission and reception of voice by video conference, etc.

[0039] 6 shows an example of a communication screen 1200 as a place of conversation generated by the generation unit 103 and displayed on the user terminal 30 by the display control unit 107 described later in response to an operation of a member (second user) on the user terminal 30 (second terminal). The communication screen 1200 shown in FIG. 6 is a screen that is displayed on each user terminal 30 of two people related to a combination set in a matching list by the setting unit 102, and allows communication by posting chat messages. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication screen 1200 includes an assistant notification area 1201 and a chat area 1202.

[0040] The assistant notification area 1201 is an area in which, for example, the display control unit 107 displays a message that is automatically created to encourage communication between the two people relating to the above-mentioned combination.

[0041] The chat area 1202 is an area that displays the contents of chats posted by two people related to the above-mentioned combination by operating each user terminal 30 to communicate with each other. Each member can post a new chat by viewing the contents of the chat posted by the other member and replying to it. If a member has registered a self-introduction card described later in advance or newly registered it, the fact that the card has been registered or information such as a link to the registered location may be automatically displayed in the chat area 1202, or the member may post a link to the location where the self-introduction card is registered. If a self-introduction card is newly created or updated, the contents of the self-introduction card may be automatically posted as a chat. In addition, the two members related to the above-mentioned combination may post chats in any order, only one of them may post a chat, or chat posting may be repeated multiple times.

[0042] When each member posts a chat on the communication screen 1200, a self-introduction card list screen 1300 as shown in Fig. 7 may be displayed by the display control unit 107 described later in response to the member's operation on the user terminal 30. The self-introduction card list screen 1300 shown in Fig. 7 is a screen that displays a list of self-introduction cards that have already been registered by the registration unit 105 described later. As shown in Fig. 7, the self-introduction card list screen 1300 includes a self-introduction card list display area 1301.

[0043] The self-introduction card list display area 1301 is an area that displays a list of self-introduction cards that have already been registered by the registration unit 105. When a desired self-introduction card is pressed from the list displayed in the self-introduction card list display area 1301, the display control unit 107 displays details of the self-introduction card.

[0044] The generating unit 103 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

[0045] The notification unit 104 is a functional unit that notifies the two user terminals 30 of the combination, at the place of the conversation generated by the generation unit 103, via the communication unit 101, that they are encouraged to interact when the date and time of the schedule corresponding to the combination in the matching list set by the setting unit 102 arrives. Here, the notification may include a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for accessing the place of the conversation generated by the generation unit 103. In addition, the notification may be, for example, a mention in a communication tool, an email, or the like, but may be something else. The notification unit 104 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

[0046] The registration unit 105 is a functional unit that creates a self-introduction card based on the contents inputted on a self-introduction card creation screen 1100 shown in Fig. 5 displayed on the administrator terminal 20 by a display control unit 107 described later in response to an operation of the member on the user terminal 30, and registers the card in the storage unit 108. Here, the self-introduction card is information (self-introduction information) about the member that is created based on the contents inputted to introduce the member on the self-introduction card creation screen 1100, and is information that is displayed in the form of a card in appearance on the self-introduction card list screen 1300.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 5, the self-introduction card creation screen 1100 includes an input area 1101 and a registration button 1102.

[0048] The input area 1101 is an area for inputting each content of the self-introduction. In the example of the self-introduction card creation screen 1100 shown in Fig. 5, the input area 1101 for inputting the name, affiliation, birthplace, career, and hobbies as the content of the self-introduction is shown. Note that the content of the self-introduction does not need to include all the content shown in Fig. 5, and may include input areas for other content.

[0049] The registration button 1102 is a button for creating a self-introduction card based on the content of the self-introduction input in the input area 1101 and registering it in the storage unit 108. When the registration button 1102 is pressed, the registration unit 105 creates a self-introduction card based on the content input in the input area 1101 and registers it in the storage unit 108.

[0050] The registration unit 105 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

[0051] The tallying unit 106 is a functional unit that tallies the results of conversations that have been made by posting chats on the communication screen 1200. Examples of the timing for tallying by the tallying unit 106 include when there are no new posts for a predetermined time after the last chat post, when a predetermined time has elapsed since a notification was made by the notification unit 104 or since a conversation location was generated by the generation unit 103, or when an operation requesting the end of the conversation is made by any of the members.

[0052] The tallying unit 106 tallies, as the tallying contents of the conversation result, the relationship between the new member and the existing members, as shown in, for example, a communication result screen 1400 shown in FIG. 8. Then, the communication result screen 1400 is displayed on the user terminal 30 by the display control unit 107 in response to the member's operation on the user terminal 30. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication result screen 1400 is a network diagram showing the relationship with other members, for example, centering on the logged-in member (member A in the example shown in FIG. 8). As shown in FIG. 8, the communication result screen 1400 expresses the relationship between each member by the thickness of the line, and the line becomes thicker as the exchange progresses and the relationship is built. The tallying unit 106 tallies the relationship between member A and member B, for example, based on the number of chat posts by member A and member B at the place of the conversation, the number of times member A and member B participated in the same conference, the number of emails sent and received between member A and member B, and the like. The relationship may be quantified as a score. In this case, the counting unit 106 may compare the score of the relationship with a predetermined threshold, and determine that the relationship is weak if the score is smaller than the threshold, and that the relationship is strong if the score is larger than the threshold.

[0053] In addition, based on the degree of the relationship collected by the collection unit 106, the notification unit 104 may notify the user terminal 30 of the member connected by the relationship via the communication unit 101 to encourage interaction. For example, when a member is connected to one of the existing members by a weak relationship, or when a member belongs to the same department but has no relationship with the existing member, the notification unit 104 may notify (recommend) that interaction with the existing member is encouraged. For example, the example of the communication result screen 1400 shown in FIG. 8(a) shows a case where there is no relationship between member A and member E, and the example of the communication result screen 1400 shown in FIG. 8(b) shows a case where the relationship between member A and member E is weak, and the notification unit 104 may notify the user terminals 30 of member A and member E of encouraging interaction. In addition, the notification of encouraging interaction may be sent to the administrator terminal, or a combination of member A and member E may be added to the matching list. In addition, when a strong relationship is formed with one of the existing members, the notification unit 104 may notify the member to encourage interaction with another member. In addition, the notification unit 104 may identify a member who mediates between members who are weakly connected or have no relationship (for example, a member who has a relationship with each of the members who are weakly connected or have no relationship), notify the members who are weakly connected or have no relationship, respectively, to encourage interaction, and notify the mediating member to encourage participation in the conversation place. For example, in the example of the communication result screen 1400 shown in FIG. 8(c), the notification unit 104 may identify member E who has a relationship with each of member A and member F who have no relationship, and notify the member E to encourage participation in the conversation place. In addition, the recommendation screen 1500 shown in FIG. 9 is a screen that notifies members A and member F who have no relationship that both of them have a relationship with member E and that they are encouraged to interact in a recommendation content notification area 1501 that shows the notification content. The notification unit 104 may also notify the manager terminal 20 of the superior of each member who is notified of the encouragement to interact, of the encouragement to participate in the place of conversation.

[0054] The tallying unit 106 also tallies, as the tallying contents of the conversation results, for example, the increase or decrease in the amount of interaction between a specific member (e.g., a new member) and other members (e.g., existing members), as shown in a manager communication result screen 1600 shown in FIG. 10. Then, the manager communication result screen 1600 is displayed on the manager terminal 20 as a screen for the manager by the display control unit 107 in response to the manager's operation on the manager terminal 20. As shown in FIG. 10, the manager communication result screen 1600 is a screen that shows the increase or decrease in interaction by comparatively displaying the interaction between a specific member (member A in FIG. 10) and other members (members C, D, and E in FIG. 10) from last month and this month. This allows the manager to grasp the change in the state of interaction between members in his or her own department.

[0055] The establishment of remote communication as described above also has an impact on managers and other administrators. In the past, managers were often in the same room as the members of the organization. Therefore, the manager was able to grasp the atmosphere of the communication situation between new members and existing members, and based on that, follow up and output the organization management. However, since the manager now communicates with the members remotely, it has become difficult for the manager to grasp the communication situation between the members, and he is increasingly struggling with what to rely on to manage the organization. How to resolve such difficulties for both new members and managers is important in terms of improving the productivity of the organization. As described above, the aggregation unit 106 aggregates the increase and decrease in the interaction between a specific member and other members as shown in the communication result screen 1600 for the administrator shown in FIG. 10 as the aggregation content of the conversation result, and the communication result screen 1600 for the administrator is displayed on the administrator terminal 20 by the display control unit 107, so that the administrator can visually grasp the change in the interaction situation between the members of his / her department, and can smoothly manage the organization.

[0056] (Overall operation flow of the communication system) Fig. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall operation flow of the communication system according to the embodiment. Fig. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the self-introduction card creation operation of the communication system according to the embodiment. The overall operation flow of the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12.

[0057] <Step S11> In response to an operation of the administrator on the administrator terminal 20, the setting unit 102 sets the matching list on a matching list screen 1000 shown in FIG.

[0058] <Step S12> The setting unit 102 stores (registers) the set matching list in the storage unit 108 .

[0059] <Step S13> When the scheduled date and time corresponding to the combination in the matching list set by the setting unit 102 arrives, the generating unit 103 generates a place where each member corresponding to the combination can have a conversation.

[0060] <Step S14> When the scheduled date and time corresponding to the combination in the matching list set by the setting unit 102 arrives, the notification unit 104 notifies the user terminals 30 of the two people related to the combination at the conversation location generated by the generation unit 103 via the communication unit 101 that they are encouraged to interact. Here, the notification unit 104 notifies (recommends) the user terminal 30a of member A of the two people related to the combination that they are encouraged to interact with member B. Furthermore, if a self-introduction card for member A has not been created, the notification unit 104 notifies the user terminal 30a that a self-introduction card should be created and exchanged with member B.

[0061] <Step S15> The user terminal 30a performs a process for creating a self-introduction card for member A while communicating with the server 10. In this case, the communication system 1 specifically executes the operation of creating a self-introduction card shown in Fig. 12. Hereinafter, with reference to Fig. 12, the flow of the operation of creating a self-introduction card shown in Fig. 12 will be described as a specific process of this step S15.

[0062] <<Step S151>> Member A requests the server 10 to display the self-introduction card creation screen 1100 by operating the user terminal 30a.

[0063] <<Steps S152 and S153>> When the display control unit 107 of the server 10 receives a display request for the self-introduction card creation screen 1100 from the user terminal 30a, the display control unit 107 transmits a request to acquire, for example, the name and organization of member A to the personnel system 40 via the communication unit 101. Then, the display control unit 107 acquires information on the name and organization of member A from the personnel system 40 via the communication unit 101 as a response to the acquisition request.

[0064] <<Steps S154 and S155>> Then, the display control unit 107 generates a self-introduction card creation screen 1100 in which the acquired name and organization information is displayed in the input area 1101, and displays the self-introduction card creation screen 1100 on the user terminal 30a.

[0065] <<Step S156>> Member A inputs information other than the name and organization (affiliation) in the input area 1101 of the self-introduction card creation screen 1100 by operating the user terminal 30a.

[0066] <<Step S157>> When member A presses the registration button 1102, the user terminal 30a transmits the input information in the input area 1101 and a registration request to the server 10.

[0067] <<Step S158>> Then, the registration unit 105 of the server 10 creates a self-introduction card based on the input information in the input area 1101 acquired via the communication unit 101, and registers the self-introduction card in the storage unit .

[0068] Returning to FIG. 11, the explanation will be continued below.

[0069] <Step S16> In step S14, the notification unit 104 notifies (recommends) the user terminal 30a of member A of the two people involved in the combination to encourage interaction with member B, and also notifies (recommends) the user terminal 30b of member B to encourage interaction with member A. Furthermore, if a self-introduction card for member B has not been created, the notification unit 104 notifies the user terminal 30b to create a self-introduction card and encourages exchange with member A.

[0070] <Step S17> The user terminal 30b performs a process for creating a self-introduction card for member B while communicating with the server 10. In this case, the communication system 1 specifically executes an operation similar to the operation for creating a self-introduction card shown in FIG.

[0071] <Steps S18 and S19> User A and user B communicate with each other by posting chat messages on a communication screen 1200 displayed on the user terminal 30a and the user terminal 30b, respectively.

[0072] <Step S20> The tallying unit 106 tallys up the results of conversations held by posting chats on the communication screen 1200. The tallying unit 106 tallys up, as the tally content of the conversation results, for example, the relationships between new members and existing members as shown in the communication result screen 1400 shown in Fig. 8. In addition, the tallying unit 106 tallys up, as the tally content of the conversation results, for example, the increase or decrease in interactions between a specific member (e.g., a new member) and other members (e.g., existing members) as shown in the manager communication result screen 1600 shown in Fig. 10.

[0073] <Step S21> Then, the display control unit 107 causes the user terminal 30a to display the communication result screen 1400 in response to an operation of member A on the user terminal 30a. Note that the display control unit 107 may also cause the user terminal 30b to display the communication result screen 1400 in response to an operation of member B on the user terminal 30b.

[0074] <Step S22> Furthermore, the display control unit 107 causes the manager terminal 20 to display a manager communication result screen 1600 in response to an operation on the manager terminal 20 by the manager.

[0075] The tabulation unit 106 can perform tabulation based on the contents of the conversation between the members at the place of the conversation. For example, the hobbies and preferences of the member A who sent the chat can be identified based on the words included in the chat sent by the member A and the frequency with which the words were posted on the chat. The setting unit 102 can identify the hobbies and preferences of each member based on the words included in the chat or the self-introduction card, and encourage interaction between members who have the same hobbies and preferences. For example, by identifying the member B whose hobbies column in the self-introduction card contains words that match or are related to the identified hobbies and preferences, the user terminals 30 of the members A and B can be notified that they will encourage interaction with each other, or the combination of the members A and B can be added to the matching list. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the interaction between the members A and B may be encouraged only when there is no relationship between the members A and B or when the relationship is weaker than a predetermined threshold. The tabulation unit 106 can identify the hobbies and preferences of each member based on information such as emails sent and received by each member outside the place of the conversation.

[0076] As described above, in the server 10 according to this embodiment, the setting unit 102 sets a matching list indicating combinations of members to be interacted with in response to the administrator's operation on the administrator terminal 20, the generation unit 103 generates a virtual area (e.g., a communication screen 1200) for members related to the combinations set by the setting unit 102 to converse with each other, and the notification unit 104 notifies the user terminals 30 of each member related to the combinations set by the setting unit 102 that they are encouraged to interact with each other in the virtual area generated by the generation unit 103. This makes it possible to set up a place for communication and facilitate interaction.

[0077] In the above-mentioned embodiment, when at least one of the functional units of the server 10 is realized by executing a program, the program is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the server 10 may be provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in an installable or executable format. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the server 10 may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the server 10 may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the program executed by the server 10 has a modular configuration including at least one of the functional units described above, and as actual hardware, the CPU 801 reads out the program from the HD 804 described above and executes it, so that the functional units described above are loaded and generated on the RAM 803, which is a main storage device.

[0078] The aspects of the present invention are as follows. <1> An information processing device that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, A setting unit that sets a combination of the second users to be targets for communication in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; a generating unit that generates a virtual area for the second users related to the combination set by the setting unit to have a conversation with each other; a notification unit that notifies the second terminal of each of the second users related to the combinations set by the setting unit that interaction is encouraged in the virtual area generated by the generation unit; The information processing device is provided with: <2> The setting unit further sets a schedule for notifying the second terminal of each of the second users related to the combination of an instruction to encourage the interaction in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal, The notification unit notifies the second terminals of the second users related to the combinations of a request for the interaction in accordance with the schedule set by the setting unit. <1> The present invention relates to an information processing device. <3> a display control unit that displays, in response to an operation of the second user on the second terminal, a screen for inputting self-introduction information of the second user on the second terminal; a registration unit for registering the self-introduction information inputted on the screen; The method further comprises: <1> or <2> The present invention relates to an information processing device. <4> a counting unit that counts relationships between the second users based on a result of the conversation between the second users in the virtual area generated by the generation unit; a display control unit that displays the relationships compiled by the compilation unit on the second terminal of the second user corresponding to the relationships; The method further comprises: <1> or <2> The present invention relates to an information processing device. <5> The notification unit notifies the second terminal of a request to encourage the interaction in accordance with the relationship tallied by the tallying unit. <4> The present invention relates to an information processing device. <6> The tallying unit tallys up an increase or decrease in interactions between the second users based on a result of the conversation between the second users in the virtual area; The display control unit causes the first terminal to display the increase or decrease in the interactions tallied by the tallying unit. <4> The present invention relates to an information processing device. <7> A communication system including a first terminal used by a first user, a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, and an information processing device that communicates with the first terminal and the plurality of second terminals, The information processing device includes: A setting unit that sets a combination of the second users to be targets for communication in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; a generating unit that generates a virtual area for the second users related to the combination set by the setting unit to have a conversation with each other; a notification unit that notifies the second terminal of each of the second users related to the combinations set by the setting unit that interaction is encouraged in the virtual area generated by the generation unit; It is a communication system equipped with <8> An information processing method of an information processing device that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and a plurality of second terminals respectively used by a plurality of second users, comprising: A setting step of setting a combination of the second users who are to be interacted with in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; A generating step of generating a virtual area for the second users related to the set combination to have a conversation with each other; a notification step of notifying the second terminal of each of the second users related to the set combinations that they are encouraged to interact in the generated virtual area; The information processing method includes the steps of: <9> A computer that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, A setting step of setting a combination of the second users who are to be interacted with in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; A generating step of generating a virtual area for the second users related to the set combination to have a conversation with each other; a notification step of notifying the second terminal of each of the second users related to the set combinations that they are encouraged to interact in the generated virtual area; This is a program for executing the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1. Communication System 10 Server 20 Administrator terminal 30, 30a, 30b User terminal 40 Personnel System 101 Communications Department 102 Setting section 103 Generation part 104 Notification Department 105 Registration Department 106 Counting Department 107 Display control section 108 Storage section 801 CPU 802 ROM 803 RAM 804 HD 805 HDD Controller 806 Display 808 External device connection interface 809 Network Interface 810 Bus Line 811 Keyboard 812 Pointing Device 813 DVD 814 DVD-RW drive 815 Media 816 Media Interface 1000 Matching list screen 1001 Matching list display area 1002 Add button 1003 Delete button 1100 Self-introduction card creation screen 1101 Input Area 1102 Registration button 1200 Communication Screen 1201 Assistant Notification Area 1202 Chat area 1300 Self-introduction card list screen 1301 Self-introduction card list display area 1400 Communication Result Screen 1500 Recommendation screen 1501 Recommendation content notification area 1600 Administrator communication results screen N Network [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0080] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-012659 A

Claims

1. An information processing device that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, A setting unit that sets a combination of the second users to be targets for communication in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; a generating unit that generates a virtual area in which the second users related to the combination set by the setting unit can have a conversation with each other; a notification unit that notifies the second terminals of the second users related to the combinations set by the setting unit that they are encouraged to interact in the virtual area generated by the generation unit; An information processing device comprising:

2. The setting unit further sets a schedule for notifying the second terminal of each of the second users related to the combination of an instruction to encourage the interaction in response to an operation of the first terminal of the first user, The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification unit notifies the second terminals of the second users related to the combinations of an invitation to the interaction in accordance with the schedule set by the setting unit.

3. a display control unit that displays, in response to an operation of the second user on the second terminal, a screen for inputting self-introduction information of the second user on the second terminal; a registration unit for registering the self-introduction information inputted on the screen; The information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

4. a counting unit that counts relationships between the second users based on a result of the conversation between the second users in the virtual area generated by the generation unit; a display control unit that displays the relationships tallied by the tallying unit on the second terminal of the second user corresponding to the relationships; The information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

5. The information processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the notification unit notifies the second terminal of an invitation to the interaction in accordance with the relationship tallied by the counting unit.

6. The tallying unit tallys up an increase or decrease in interactions between the second users based on a result of the conversation between the second users in the virtual area; The information processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the display control unit causes the first terminal to display the increase or decrease in the interactions tallied by the tallying unit.

7. A communication system including a first terminal used by a first user, a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, and an information processing device that communicates with the first terminal and the plurality of second terminals, The information processing device includes: A setting unit that sets a combination of the second users to be targets for communication in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; a generating unit that generates a virtual area in which the second users related to the combination set by the setting unit can have a conversation with each other; a notification unit that notifies the second terminals of the second users related to the combinations set by the setting unit that they are encouraged to interact in the virtual area generated by the generation unit; A communication system equipped with

8. 1. An information processing method of an information processing device that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, comprising: A setting step of setting a combination of the second users who are to be interacted with in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; a generating step of generating a virtual area for the second users related to the set combination to have a conversation with each other; a notification step of notifying the second terminal of each of the second users related to the set combinations that they are encouraged to interact in the generated virtual area; An information processing method comprising the steps of:

9. A computer that communicates with a first terminal used by a first user and a plurality of second terminals used by a plurality of second users, A setting step of setting a combination of the second users who are to be interacted with in response to an operation of the first user on the first terminal; a generating step of generating a virtual area for the second users related to the set combination to have a conversation with each other; a notification step of notifying the second terminal of each of the second users related to the set combinations that they are encouraged to interact in the generated virtual area; A program for executing the above.

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